'And in the end defeat -- '

The waist is larger than the belt --
For put them side by side --
The one the other will exceed
With ease -- it cannot hide --
The foot is wider than the shoe --
For try them inch by inch --
The one the other won’t fit in --
Without a mighty pinch --

The mouth is greater than the will --
For show them something sweet --
The one the other will defy --
And in the end defeat—  

—”The Waist Is Larger Than the Belt,’’ by Felicia Nimue Ackerman, a Providence poet and philosophy professor